Medical Technician

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/08/2024. Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to and essential for satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. At this level, specialized experience should include experience performing a variety of relatively standardized tests, examinations, and determinations. The procedures and techniques are well-established but involve many meticulous sequential steps to complete a test; and following written procedures which give carefully detailed instructions on each step of the assigned test and examinations. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Equivalent combinations of post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above. Note: only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Patient Care Quality Assurance Specimen Collection Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Physical Demands and Working Conditions: The work requires manual dexterity and exceptional hand/eye coordination, some physical exertion, such as regular and recurring walking, reaching, bending, and to stand for several consecutive hours during the collection, processing and testing of specimens. Work is performed at a fast pace. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires occasional lifting of reagent/supply containers weighing up to 20 pounds. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The Medical Technician is located under the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System, Des Moines, IA. The technician performs phlebotomy in the emergency room, inpatient, outpatient, and extended care areas of the hospital and associated clinics. The Medical Technician performs a variety of computer, customer service, specimen processing, instruction, and communication tasks.